by Kory Stamper
First published 2017
Creating dictionaries appears orderly from the outside, but Kory Stamper exposes it as barely controlled chaos. During her years at Merriam-Webster, she grappled with the seemingly impossible task of defining what words truly mean. The simplest vocabulary can leave entire editorial teams stumped for months on end. Politics influences how definitions get written. Editorial bias seeps into decisions about word meanings. Language shifts and evolves more rapidly than any dictionary can hope to follow. Stamper uses examples from her daily editorial work to demonstrate how her colleagues actually construct these reference volumes. Certain words move quickly through editorial approval while others become mired in lengthy arguments about proper usage and appropriate context. These conflicts over word meanings reveal just how flexible and dynamic human language actually is. Stamper combines technical accuracy with authentic wit as she describes this highly specialized profession. She transforms the secretive realm of professional lexicography into genuinely compelling reading material for general audiences.
Genres: reference, language, non-fiction, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, witty
Tropes: behind-the-scenes, insider-perspective
296 pages · Hardcover · Pantheon